Hannbal and a second, unidentified man attempted to rob the Next Up Barber and Beauty shortly before 7 p.m. on Saturday.

Several people, including children, were inside the business when two armed men wearing masks demanded and stole money from them.

Chauncy Harris witnessed it all unfold. It was a scene he will never forget.

“He smacked me in the back of my head, and I said, ‘Okay, this is probably when he’s going to shoot me now and just sent an example and walk on out the door with the money,'” Harris said. “But that’s when my man let loose. That’s when everybody else had their stuff and was ready to take care of business.”

Two of the victims with valid concealed weapons permits opened fire on both men. Hannibal was wounded in the exchange, ran from the barbershop and collapsed outside. He was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead by medical staff a short time later, according to police.

CPD is investigating how the second suspect escaped from the scene, and whether he’s suffering from any injuries.

Opponents of concealed carry constantly claim that once the bad guy has the drop on you, then there is nothing you can do. As this incident shows clearly, this is not remotely true. A concealed carrier has the advantage of being able to bide his or her time and wait for a moment of opportunity to draw his or her weapon when he or she has a momentary advantage.

This robbery would also seem to show what most defensive firearms instructors already agree upon; concealed carry is tactically superior to open carry, as it gives the concealed carrier the advantage of deciding when to make the presence of a firearm known, to their advantage.

If someone had been open carrying in this incident (side note: open carry is not legal in South Carolina), it is very likely they would have been disarmed or shot by the two armed robbers as they came through the door with the element of surprise on their side.

You’ll note also that this incident gutted another common gun control lie, that if more than one concealed carrier is at the scene of a crime and draws a weapon, that they won’t know the good guys from the bad guys and will shoot one another.

Instead, we saw two concealed carriers spontaneously acting in concert to take on two bad guys, dropping one immediately and driving the other from the establishment without either robber being able to shoot any of the customers.

Well done defending yourselves, the other innocent victims, and the community at large, gentlemen.